#11: Why have traditional marketing tactics lost effectiveness?

"Post content every day to grow on social media!"

"Email your list every day to maintain top of mind awareness!"

"Remove people from your list if they haven't been opening your emails..."

"Include a CTA in every email and every piece of content you post..."

"Insert scarcity and urgency into every offer. People need a reason to buy."

"Say it's the last time you're doing the workshop. Or say there are no replays. Then people will show up."

Heard any of those statements before?

I learned them from various top marketers.

I did all of them in the past...

Even though I didn't know the principles behind them.

"Trust the process," the mentors said.

Well, I did make some money.

But revenue was inconsistent.

I had to create one offer after another to launch.

Despite over-delivering and giving my best for the clients...

They ended up leaving.

I had no revenue when there were no new clients.

It was stressful to constantly chase new leads and sales.

I got burnt out and overwhelmed from posting.

I couldn't keep up with the pace of content production.

Many people unsubscribed from my email list.

My list was shrinking faster than it grew.

I had no idea what was wrong.

Why did I feel fragility in my business despite following those advices?

Am I missing anything?

I realized businesses can only be stable and sustainable with recurring revenue.

For that to happen, you must be able to retain clients and customers.

And traditional marketing tactics aren't providing a great environment for retention.

Let's dive deeper and see why.

1) Erosion of trust.

The promise of fast results gets attention.

Marketers focus on getting attention and monetizing fast.

They optimize for the first sale.

Retention doesn't seem to be a priority for most.

At least that's what I experienced.

They usually use big claims to get attention and sales.

The problem is... Trust erodes when promises aren't fulfilled.

No trust = No sale = No retention.

People start leaving when they get disappointed.

2) Building a poor reputation.

When clients leave due to disappointment...

They carry negative emotion.

That negative emotion may be channeled into writing negative reviews.

Poor reviews mean a poor reputation.

Poor reputation compounds with time.

Negativity spreads fast.

People start doubting you before they even work with you.

People decide not to work with you after seeing the various poor reviews online.

Is getting the first sale worth all these repercussions?

I leave it to you to decide.

3) Long-term burnout.

I've seen businesses do these:

Posting content every day to attract leads and sales...

Emailing people every day with an offer...

Putting countdown timers to induce urgency...

Saying it's the last time you're offering something...

All these tactics work at first... But at what cost?

When the market is low on trust... People don't buy so readily.

Because their skepticism grows after getting burned numerous times.

Now, they observe first.

They wait.

They consider carefully before they decide to buy.

If something feels off... They leave.

So if you rely on the "bombardment method" to stay omnipresent...

It doesn't build authority if people perceive you as a pest.

They skip your ads and content.

More doesn't always mean better.

Sheer volume can become noise.

Repeated pitching can be ignored.

People may decide only to open your emails when they feel like buying something.

If you remove them from your list just because they don't open your emails regularly...

Your opportunities are gone forever.

Not buying now doesn't mean not buying in the future.

Following traditional marketing tactics simply burns everyone out.

The solution is never about more tactics.

It starts with understanding why clients leave and how to build a business they want to stay.

That starts with the Retention Formula.

Read Post #3: Trust + Meaning = Retention

You can also check out Post #8: What Is The Retention Architecture Model for a more detailed deconstruction.

Bottom line:

- Running a business isn't about blindly following tactics.

- It's not about copying and pasting what others do.

- It's about understanding the market and your audience.

- People buy willingly when you provide the right offer at the right time.

Most importantly...

Businesses that can retain the most clients and customers will be the most sustainable ones.

Client retention is the new client acquisition.

- Herek